Coastal Resilience Case Studies

The National Fish and Wildlife Foundation (NFWF) has invested in sustainable coastal communities through the Hurricane Sandy Coastal Resiliency Grant Program, National Coastal Resilience Fund, and Emergency Coastal Resilience Fund, in partnership with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, U.S. Department of the Interior, and other key partners. NFWF engaged ERG to measure the overall impact of these investments and enhance the technical capacity of resilience practitioners and decision-makers.

ERG gathered and shared best practices from coastal resilience practitioners that had been funded by NFWF with the goal of enhancing coastal resilience efforts across the United States. ERG reviewed more than 100 grantee reports and peer-reviewed articles and interviewed 60 resilience practitioners. We then used the findings from this research to develop Coastal Resilience Success Stories, a series of case studies documenting exemplary coastal resilience projects throughout the country. The case studies describe key challenges and highlight transferable strategies for resilience practitioners, providing an important foundation for future resilience efforts. Featured strategies range from ongoing monitoring of the project site, to leveraging resources to build local capacity, to testing novel approaches. NFWF and ERG’s work will help enhance the technical capacity of resilience practitioners and decision-makers and strengthen the overall human and ecosystem impacts of coastal resilience projects.